Charlton Athletic Relegated To League One

As relegations go there can’t be too many more painful than Charlton’s to League One this weekend. 2-0 up against Blackpool in a game The Addicks had to win to prolong their bid for survival, Charlton Athletic then threw it all away. Blackpool got back into the game, scored a penalty to narrow the deficit and, in the 90th minute, found an equaliser.

That desperately late goal from Lee Hughes sends Charlton down to League One, where they will compete in the third-tier of English football for the first time in 29 years. If there was ever a way for a team to prove it is of League One standard, throwing away a 2-0 lead to Blackpool was perfect.

Nonetheless, it was a cruel way to confirm what was fast becoming the inevitable for Charlton.

‘They shouldn’t be going down, they’ve got better players than a lot of teams around the bottom of this division,’ commented Blackpool caretaker boss Tony Parkes after the game and, in the main, he is correct. Charlton do possess superior players to others around them in the bottom six of The Championship, on paper. Problem is, football is not played on paper and the ‘too good to go down’ line of philosophy has many a time been proven a false doctrine. Charlton are going down for a simple reason. 23 other league teams have performed better than them.

It has been a wretched few years for Charlton Athletic since relegation from the Premier League in 2007. We have covered the tale of their rapid decline previously. The key for them now is to make their stay in League One as brief as possible.

How can they achieve that? By keeping their best players. Teenager Jonjo Shelvey is one highly promising talent around whom manager Phil Parkinson should try and build the team, but even with a player who represents arguably their brightest hope, doubts remain. Assuming that Shelvey does stay at The Valley, can one so young be relied upon over a gruelling 46 game season?

Another reason Charlton fans might find cause for optimism is their manager. Parkinson knows the lower leagues well, and in Colchester United has already guided a club with far fewer resources (and supporters) to promotion from League One. He will need to draw on all that wisdom and expertise if the club are to rise again, or face the sack.

For the doom-mongers, reasons to be fearful linger. Worrying signs over the club’s financial situation have surfaced recently with the news that Charlton had to sell their training ground to club directors for £1.5 million in order to raise funds. Debts are spiralling rapidly, particularly as parachute payments from the Premier League end this season. With several players also soon to be out of contract, the complexion of the squad could change rapidly over the summer.

Charlton’s average attendance this season, in a miserable year for the club, has hovered around the 21,000 mark. It seems doubtful they will be able to attract those numbers in League One, but it remains to be seen just how steeply attendance figures drop. With fewer fans comes less revenue, which would also create problems.

These are grim times for Charlton fans, but if they want to look around for inspiration they should cast their eyes no further than the Midlands and Leicester City. Another hitherto established Premier League club who slipped all the way to the depths of League One, The Foxes wasted no time regaining Championship status in 2008/2009, and won promotion back to English football’s second tier on the same day Charlton were relegated, and at the first time of asking. The Valley faithful will be hoping (and the board praying) their team can bounce back with similar urgency this time next year.

Will Charlton bounce straight back to the Championship? Have your say in the comments field below.

Blackpool, Charlton Athletic, England, English Championship